Windoak

From Mizahar Lore

Revision as of 05:00, 24 May 2011

"I came to the two Dyres brothers, one of which I knew my life would be fated to be entwined with, and told them my vision. A tree grows high on the cliffs above the Suvan Sea, born of the death of your Sylir, and even though it is but a fragment of what it once was, it lives and breaths and whispers to you to come to it. For beneath its branches and written in its gnarled trunk is the pathway to order you so desperately seek." - Nila, Konti Seer

Windoak

Fragment
The Windoak
Frequency	Singular
Threat level	Low
Major features	Appears as an enormous ancient oak overlooking the Sea Reach Fortress
Abilities	Dispenses Advice
Most common in	Syliras, within Stormhold Castle's boundaries.

Located in Syliras, the Windoak is the primary reason the Syliran Knights were formed and subsequently the city of Syliras was founded. Dispensing advice and giving hope in hopeless situations, the Windoak is an important part of the Syliran Knighthood. They even use it as their symbol.

History

During the Valterrian when the battle between The Gods became intensified, Ivak's wrath knew no boundaries. The god Sylir sacrificed himself in order to allow Izurdin and Morwen an opportunity to imprison him. His death resulted in a fragment monster In Mizahar, it is possible for a god to be slain, and it has happened relatively often in history. While the consequences may vary, Fragmentation occurs frequently. The deity's immense Djed ruptures, and massive slivers scatter all over the world. Each of these Fragments is sentient and represents a part of the god's personality as well a spark of their power. A Fragment, while not nearly as powerful as the entity it came from, is a formidable opponent. Each has a name and a subset of the god's domain powers. Their minds are broken and usually focus on seizing territory and ruling it according to their world vision. Far from easy to slay, they tend to create their own servants. Most Fragments existing today belong to long forgotten gods who were killed in the early days of man. that grew into the Windoak, an enormous tree. The Windoak overlooks the Suvan Sea in modern day Syliras. The tree eventually called to a Konti named Nila who lead the Dyres brothers to its location, wherein it urged them to found the Knighthood and build a city around whatever stability they could establish in the region. It worked wonderfully, and today the City of Syliras thrives.

The Windoak gives advice numerous ways, depending upon who seeks it. Sometimes it actually speaks to the person if they are in any way gifted to hear the thoughts or feelings of plants. Sometimes, just staring at its bark forms words, and a message is conveyed to the observer written in wood. This only helps if the person viewing the tree can read. If someone is gifted with 'sight' or a follower of Avalis, the Windoak can give them a vision, even at a distance.

Though there were multiple fragments, only one Windoak has ever been discovered to date.

Appearance

The Windoak is to the untrained eye an ancient oak. It has a smooth base that has a sleek look which tends to appear to be a man's face in the correct light. When the Windoak is actually speaking, the tree will seem to have a face push out of it that speaks in a deep resonant voice. Once it dispenses advice however, no one would ever doubt the tree was anything but special.

Knowledge of the Windoak

Despite its prevalence in Syliran history, or perhaps because of it, very few people in modern times know about the Windoak. Your average Syliran citizen will simply believe that the tree is a symbol of growth and renewal used by the Knights much like any symbol or standard, and think nothing of it.

Stories and Legends

Mothers tell their children fairy tales of a god who loved humanity so deeply that he let himself be slain in order to protect him. When he died, his blood seeped through the Ukalas and splashed upon the rocks of the sea. From that blood, a tree sprouted and lifted itself towards Syna's warming light, twisting and reaching until the bloodstain was transmuted into a great silvery oak, heavy with age though it had been born only moments before. It was there that the Dyres brothers built their city, to honor the sacrifice of Sylir.

A very pretty story, to be sure. Only the knights and a few of their closer allies within the city know that the Windoak is more than just a fairy tale, that it is actually a sentient creature that guides the actions of the knights and dispenses advice to those who seek it.

The Truth

The decision was made a century earlier that they would limit access to the Windoak in order to ensure its safety from any agent of Rhysol, and as such there is an entire company of knights dedicated to guarding the Windoak Courtyard, and only squires, knights, and those they deem safe or worthy are allowed to enter and speak to the it.

The Knights themselves don't generally discuss the Windoak with anyone outside of the sect. They will share the truth with their spouses, and usually their children in an attempt to encourage them to join, but your average citizen simply doesn't know the inner workings of the Dyres' personal fragment monster.

Squires, and some few who are brought into the circle by the Knights, know that there exists a magical tree somewhere within Syliras. It is rumored that it holds some mystical power, though no one really knows what that might be. Squires themselves know that it is highly prized by the Knighthood, and tantamount to treason to share the knowledge of its existence with anyone outside the circle. Before they are given their Knighting Quest, most believe they will be moved to full Knights once they achieve a certain skill level and that their quests come from Loren Dyres. It is usually a strange and surprising thing for them to be brought instead to the giant tree and told to meditate in front of it. They're even more surprised when it speaks to them.

Fully initiated Knights know that the Windoak is a magical being, and that Syliras owes much of its survival to it. They revere its wisdom, and though they do not pray to it like the gods they will often seek its wisdom in times of great uncertainty in their lives.

Very, very few people - namely those holding a Captain's rank or higher - are aware that the Windoak is actually a fragment monster of their dead god Sylir. This is an extremely well-guarded secret, and anyone else found holding this knowledge is often hunted and killed out of hand, usually on the Windoak's orders.

Windoak Courtyard

The Windoak is located in its own courtyard, which is heavily guarded by the Knighthood. It rests on the highest cliff overlooking the Suvan Sea within the Dyres District though it is protected by the Wall. However, there are open stone archways allowing the courtyard and the Windoak a view of the sea from high above the city, meaning that ships who are approaching the Docks cannot see it. The rest of the courtyard is open, with pathways and decorative gardens making it a calm and peaceful place.

The peacefulness, however, is balanced by the voracity with which the Knights protect their most treasured possession. There is an entire Company of Knights, the Black Company of the 2nd Regiment in the Silver Quadron, who are assigned to protect the Windoak Courtyard. There have been terribly few incursions since the founding of Syliras, helped along by the fact that the courtyard is so deep within the Dyres District that almost no one can make it without being directly escorted by the Knights. However, they are careful still. Any animals or birds seen acting strangely or approaching the Windoak (other than the normal sort of sparrows and doves found within the city) are usually shot down by the archers without hesitation, thinking it better to be safe than to find out they'd let a Kelvic or some Tatani infiltrator get too close to the Windoak.

The Windoak Itself

Any Knight would say quite passionately that the Windoak is a force of goodness and peace, a bright and shining light in a dark world. Of course, most Knights are rather deeply indoctrinated into just such beliefs. The reality that almost no one realizes is that the Windoak is and always will be a monster - a territorial one that wishes nothing more than to build and protect its city. It uses the Knights as pawns to achieve this goal, and though it has tended to call to it those of a more noble character (or perhaps its pawns have shaped their predecessors into such) it will just as easily accept the oaths of an unsavory character if it senses it can use them for its own devices.

That is the true purpose of the Knighting Quests: not just to give the Squires a way to prove their worth, but also to do whatever it can to keep itself safe. That is why Knighting Quests usually involve things like hunting down slavers to bring the newly freed people into the welcoming arms of the city, destroying those who may endanger the secrecy of the Windoak's existence, or killing those who threaten the safety of Syliran citizens. The Windoak doesn't choose these quests because they are morally right. It chooses them because they are expedient and serve its goals.

This doesn't change the fact that the Windoak is, as far as monsters go, a generally good creature. It just reminds one that goodness is a fluid thing of perception rather than reality.

Appearances